Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel.
Herman Dana Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem 91240, Israel.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 8;20(2):1122. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021122.
After a traumatic medical event, such as surgery or hospitalization, a child may develop a phobia of medical care, sometimes preventing future medical adherence and impairing recovery. This study examined the correlation of Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress (PMTS) on the development of Medical Phobia (MP) and subsequent treatment adherence. We enrolled 152 parents of children aged 1-6 hospitalized in a surgical ward. During hospitalization, parents completed questionnaires that identified post-traumatic stress symptoms. Four months post hospitalization, parents completed questionnaires on post-traumatic stress, medical phobia, psychosocial variables and medical adherence. We found a positive correlation between PMTS and MP and low adherence to medical treatment. In addition, MP mediated the relationship between PMTS severity and adherence, indicating that PMTS severity is associated with stronger medical phobia, and lower pediatric adherence to medical treatment. Our findings suggest that medical phobia serves as an essential component of PMTS. It is important to add medical phobia to medical stress syndrome definition. In addition, as MP and PMTS are involved in the rehabilitation and recovery process and subsequent success, it is an important aspect of treatment adherence.
在经历创伤性医疗事件（如手术或住院）后，儿童可能会产生对医疗护理的恐惧，有时会导致未来的医疗依从性下降，影响康复。本研究探讨了儿科医疗创伤后应激（PMTS）与医疗恐惧症（MP）发展及随后治疗依从性的相关性。我们招募了 152 名 1-6 岁在外科病房住院的儿童的父母。住院期间，父母完成了识别创伤后应激症状的问卷。在出院后 4 个月，父母完成了关于创伤后应激、医疗恐惧症、心理社会变量和医疗依从性的问卷。我们发现 PMTS 与 MP 呈正相关，与医疗治疗的依从性低相关。此外，MP 中介了 PMTS 严重程度和依从性之间的关系，表明 PMTS 严重程度与更强的医疗恐惧症相关，儿童对医疗治疗的依从性更低。我们的研究结果表明，医疗恐惧症是 PMTS 的一个重要组成部分。在医疗应激综合征的定义中，加入医疗恐惧症是很重要的。此外，由于 MP 和 PMTS 涉及康复和恢复过程以及随后的成功，因此是治疗依从性的一个重要方面。
